[teawithsunshine]

Hi--

I've heard this phrase a lot, but what exactly does "bulking up" mean?

If you for instance, bulk up in the arms or legs, how does one go about reducing or eliminating the "bulking" up muscles so you have nice and slender leg/arm muscles instead?

thanks!

~ tea

[jessisaokay]

women cannot do a bulk without specific training and diet. They also do not have the hormones like men do.

[midwife]

I've been lifting weights seriously for 10 months. I am gaining strength and losing body fat but I am most definitely NOT bulking up. I wish I could a little bit, actually. My muscles are defined and strong, but I am smaller than I have ever been at this weight.

[notsofatguy]

jessi got it right women are hormonally different most of those huge woman are definitely on some type of steroids, but lifting heavy with low reps is still a very good way to lose body fat. Even for some people like me I eating around 3500 calories a day lifting heavy weights and still losing weight.

[Ilene]

"bulking up" means to build up your muscles though weight-lifting, strength training and eating a diet that is meant to add bulk to your muscles. BUT as jessisaokay said women cannot do that because we do not have enough male hormones(testosterone) to get big and bulky... What will make women look bulky is the fat lying on top of the muscle, therefore you need to incorporate enough cardio to burn the fat... You also need a very good clean food plan...

[FB]

I'm not sure where you heard it. If you heard guys at the gym talking, some bodybuilders go through 'cutting' (losing fat) and 'bulking' (building muscles, gaining weight as a result) phases endlessly.

Otherwise, I'd guess bulking up would refer to bulky looking muscles - which is HARD for a woman to do. I lift super hard, heavy and often. The only time I look even remotely bulky is immediately after a workout. The look disappears quickly. I sort of like it myself, I look a bit She-Ra afterward.

[slimmingsi]

bulk is just that bulk. its undefined weight and comes in the form of both muscle and fat. as mentioned bodybuilders go through cutting cycles and bulking cycles. the ripped pictures you see of bodybuilders in magazine they can only maintain for a very short period of time. they eat and train hard all winter and i mean eat. then they essentially starve themselves and cardio up to get ripped for a show. some pro's can lose upwards of 50lbs by doing this becaue by losing "weight" you lose both fat and muscle

women can bulk up but not to anywhere near the amount of men but thats not to say women can't become very strong and defined but it takes a lot of training and alot of propper eating and protein shakes.

the bottom line is you dont' need to bulk up. there are very few genuine reasons to bulk up unless your a pro/very competitive sports person and need it for your job. i.e a football player moving position a boxer moving up a weight class a bodybuilder etc. its just not needed. clean eating and sensible weight training will tone, define and burn calories.

[jaypaul]

Don;t bother trying to bulk up. Just workout and eat well.